Poisoned Heart
by DaughterOfTheMoon92
Summary: The Time Lord was killed when my Lu- the traitor sacrificed himself on Olympus. He couldn't be back already, right? It took thousands of years for him to be strong enough to return the first time. It hadn't even been a decade yet... First fanfic so yay! Not sure about any pairings yet, but Percabeth life no matter what.
1. The Beginning of the End

The Beginning of the End

 **DISCLAIMER: I unfortunately own nothing of the beautiful universe of PJO or HoO. Credit to my favorite of the gods, Rick Riordan**

~Annabeth~

The warmth of his body pressed against me in the dark was like adrenaline. Even if real adrenaline coursing through my veins, everything would have been in high definition focus as we moved towards Zeus' Fist. I heard the subtle rustle in a tree and moved my shield to stop an arrow from flying into a chink in Percy's armor.

"Nice save," he whispered.

"Shhh," I hushed him, "it means they know we are here." He brushed a curl out of my face, and I took a deep breath as his sea green eyes locked on mine. I smiled faintly as my insides warmed and scanned the surroundings. I saw a flash of silver in a bush and nodded my head towards it. I pushed it aside and thrush my bone sword towards the throat of a young hunter. She squeaked as Percy took her bow and bound her hands with water. Then we dashed off towards the silver flag of the Hunters.

"I think we have a chance this time!" Percy said quietly. A Hunter charged us with her hunting knife. I hit her chest with the flat of my blade. She fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her.

"I'll make the diversion," he murmured in my ear. He kissed my cheek gently and ran off. I began to count in my head, then time stopped. Literally. A cold metallic laugh filled my ears and my blood went cold. No… it couldn't be. A man walked out from the trees. His skin perfectly tanned, and his hair the color of Riptide. He didn't have the same body as the last time I saw him, but his eyes were the same: pure gold. I wanted to swing my weapon at him, or, better yet, run, but I was frozen in time.

"You two are so sweet," Kronos rasped into my ear, "What an adorable couple. I really do ship Percabeth. He loves you so much, doesn't he? He would do anything for you," My mind was racing. The Time Lord was killed when my Lu- the traitor sacrificed himself on Olympus. He couldn't be back already, right? It took thousands of years for him to be strong enough to return the first time. It hadn't even been a decade yet. I could hear the chaos of Percy's diversion behind me.

"Don't worry, Ms. Chase. I don't want you. I do know someone does, though." Kronos' plan suddenly made sense to me. As he slowly walked around my still form, he pulled out his scythe, unfroze me, and slashed my leg in one swift movement. I screamed as my flesh, bone, and soul were ripped open by the blade. I collapsed and my blood flowed onto the forest floor. Kronos smiled with glee at my agony.

"You- you-" I couldn't get the words out. My vision was going dark around the edges. Percy ran out of the woods, followed by a few campers and Hunters. They had heard my scream. Percy looked at me and paled. He brandished Riptide and looked Kronos in the eyes.

"What do you want?" he said. I could tell he was trying to be confident, but his voice wavered. Kronos didn't reply immediately. I was getting light-headed as my blood was draining out of my leg.

"Come with me, Jackson. I believe we could do great things together."

"Ha. You're actually a funny guy, Kronos. I'd love to hang out sometime, but I'm pretty busy this week. If you-"

"Jackson, I will not have this nonsense from you. Come with me, or your girlfriend dies." Kronos twirled his scythe and it turned into a sword, Backbiter. He took the point and put it over my belly button. He pressed it slowly and it melted through my chest plate like butter. I didn't have the strength to stop him. I knew it would come to this. I was going to die anyway, from my leg wound. I couldn't feel anything below my ribs besides a burning sensation where my calf was split open. I tried to tell Percy to ignore the offer, but I was too weak. I could tell he had already made up his mind. Gods damn his stupid fatal flaw.

We locked eyes one last time before he said, "I'll go with you."

"No…" I breathed.

Kronos' eyes glowed. "Excellent choice," he said conversationally. He forced his sword through my body and I screamed with the last of my energy. Percy lunged towards me, but Kronos grabbed him. The last thing I saw before the world blacked out was a brilliant flash of golden light, and several Hunters and dryads running towards me. I settled into the cold, hollow nothingness.

 _Yay! First fanfic ever! Sorry for it being a kind of short first chapter, but I just wanted to get things rolling. Let me know what you guys think! For the first few chapters, I'll update every day or two, but then I'll probably go weekly. :)_


	2. Pain and Tears

Pain and Tears

~Annabeth~

 _Falling, falling. The pit with no end was cold and lifeless. Except for the one thing that could keep me sane under any circumstances. My beautiful Seaweed Brain. We embraced each other through the pain. The bottom of the bottomless abyss was coming into view. Percy prepared to use the water to soften the fall. He was crying. His tears were falling onto my shoulder. I squeezed him, but instead, he let go of me._

 _"What are you doing?" I said._

 _"I am going to save you," he replied. The floor was nearing._

 _"How?" I whispered._

 _"Like this." He burst into a ball of white light as my body his the black, glass ground of Tartarus._

I woke with a start. The sudden movement made me want to throw up. I was staring at a plain white ceiling. I tried to sit up and look around but a sharp pain in my stomach told me that wasn't a good idea. Wait. I should be dead. Why am I not bargaining with Charon about the price into the Underworld right now? There was a slight movement at my feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lady Artemis lifting an unconscious Apollo off of my bed and onto an empty one.

"She's awake!" a voice cried. Piper came into my field of vision, eyes full of tears. Jason was next to her, red eyed too. Leo hugged a sobbing Calypso, and Frank and Hazel looked like they had been run through with a sword. Warm streams ran down my cheeks too, from pain and from seeing everyone else in this much distress.

No one spoke until Leo broke the silence, "We thought you were dead. Thalia carried you back from the woods and you were soaked in blood. Percy was gone too." Calypso slapped him. He looked at her like, _What gives?_ A fresh wave of tears came. Percy. His fatal flaw would finally be fatal. It was my fault. I should have stopped him. I should have let Kronos kill me instead of take him.

"It's not your fault, Annabeth," a weak voice said. Apollo was sitting up on his bed. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

"Lord Apollo," I said. It hurt my throat to speak. The words came out at the volume of a whisper. "How am I alive?"

"As soon as you were brought out," Hazel said, "Chiron called Apollo. He has been awake for 12 days trying to keep you alive." The look of shock that must have registered on my face said everything for me. "Yes, 12 days."

I sat there silently for a minute. My hand moved slowly to my stomach. I felt a neat row of stitches where Backbiter had made an attempt to finish me. My fingers inched down to my leg. They met not mutilated muscle, disfigured bone, or sterile bandages. They brushed against cold metal. I gasped.

"I tried my best. You had lost too much blood and I had to fix your stomach first. By the time I got to-" Apollo started.

I cut him off, "It's okay, Lord Apollo. You saved my life. I owe everything to you."

He smiled. "Now that's what I like to hear! Now if you could sacrifice a few-" Artemis slapped him.

Poseidon ran in. "What happened to my son? Where is he?" I swallowed a lump forming in my throat. I looked into Poseidon's eyes. They were exactly like his, sea green and wild, like the ocean. They were the last part of him I ever saw….

"We can talk about this later," Apollo cut in. "She needs to rest." I shot him a look that said, _thank you._ Everyone slowly filed out of the room. I took a deep breath, slowly pulled my blanket over my head, and wept silently for my Seaweed Brain.

—18 hours later—

"This meeting today has been called to discuss the disappearance of Perseus Jackson, and the return of Kronos," Zeus' voice boomed through the throne room. A wave of murmurs swept through the assembly of Olympians, campers, and Hunters. Zeus held up his hands and the room went silent. "First I call upon Annabeth Chase to retell what happened two weeks ago at camp that night."

Apollo helped me up. I ambled to the center of the circle of thrones, sweat forming beads on my brow from pain and exertion. I hadn't stood up since that game of Capture the Flag. I pursed my lips and put most of my weight on the god of the sun. The gods didn't speak, but watched my silently.

"Ms. Chase," Zeus thundered, "please tell the Olympian Council the details of the night that Perseus vanished."

I spoke for what felt like decades. I told them every single detail that I could remember. Maybe if they know more, they can find him sooner. By the end of the story, not only was I on the verge of tears, but Aphrodite was openly sobbing, Demeter had red eyes, and the campers were all wiping their eyes. I stood, forgetting that I couldn't even support my own weight. I collapsed and Piper and Hazel ran to pick me up. They carried me back and Piper whispered, "They will find him. Don't worry." I smiled a little, though she may have infused her words with charmspeak.

I didn't care either way. I will see Percy again, even if it's the last thing I do.

 **I'm sick today so I have time to write! Let me know what you think about this chapter. (You're going to get some Percy in the next update, too!)**


	3. Join or Suffer

**DISCLAIMER (which I forgot last time): PJO and HoO are sadly not my work, but Rick Riordan's.**

—Two weeks earlier—

~Percy~

Spontaneous combustion is, in fact, NOT as fun as it sounds. Especially when you just watched your girlfriend get killed by one of your worst enemies. So much of her blood was on the ground already. It would have been my fault anyway for leaving her and not coming back sooner. Oh, Annabeth.

I hit the ground on my backside, feeling like I had been microwaved. Graceful. Kronos stood looming next to me. We were in a concrete box, about eight feet long, wide, and tall. It was completely empty, not even doors or walls. I realized I was still holding my sword. I impulsively took a swing at Kronos' jugular. He lazily flicked his hand and my arm froze in time. He casually pulled my beloved Riptide out from my fingers and unfroze them.

He smirked, "Thank you for reminding me to disarm you, Jackson." He played with the sword casually as he walked around the room. The same way he had walked around Annabeth and toyed with his scythe. "Do you know why I brought you here, Son of Poseidon?" I stood and watched him as he circled me.

"You want something," I said. "Probably to torture me."

He chuckled. "Smart boy. Torturing you seems like lots of fun, especially after that little incident not too long ago on Olympus. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to have to reform every time someone decides they can chop you up or slice you down?"

"Um…" I was not getting a good vibe from this guy right now.

"Alas, torturing you is not the reason I brought you here. I would like you to do something for me: help me take over Olympus."

"Wow, that's a lot better. Wasn't I the one who may have possibly led the campers into battle to stop you from doing that last time?"

"That may be true, but you are one of the strongest demigods alive. With you on my side, along my blessing and a few other Titans, we can win and Olympus will fall!"

"No thanks."

"I knew you would say that." He quickly spun and pinned me to the wall by my throat. "I know you are loyal to your friends, Jackson. That's how I got you here. Don't think for a second I won't get you to join me. Just wait. You will join me even if your body and mind are in shreds when you do." He sliced across my ribcage with Riptide and flashed out of the room. I would have screamed, but I was left gasping for breath as warm blood trickled out of my chest and onto the cold ground around me.

I woke the next day to Kronos' golden eyes. I flinched, and the gash from yesterday was still bleeding. Stupid celestial bronze. Kronos took out a vial of clear liquid and poured it onto the wound. I expected it to sting, or at least be poison. It was seawater. I healed and stood up.

"I need you alive, Jackson," Kronos said. "But I also need you. So don't think for a second I will be nice to you." I just woke up. My brain was definitely not processing this correctly. At least I think he won't kill me. For now. I would rather die than betray my friends.

"I will ask you once, would you like to join me, or would you like to suffer."

"Um, suffer. What did you think I would say?"

Kronos shoved me against the wall and drove Riptide through my right hand all the way into the wall. I cried out, though it was more surprise than pain. Blood trickled silently down my arm. My arm throbbed but nothing else. He wasn't satisfied. He pulled out a dagger that looked like it used to be the same color as my sword but was fading into a dull silver.

"Remember this?" I studied the blade. There was something about it that seemed familiar, but it wouldn't click. "It was your girlfriend's," Kronos said at last. "It was retrieved from the Cocytus by a few of my minions." He lunged again and this time dug the knife into my left palm. This time, a wave of cold washed over me. Some of the misery had infused in the metal. A tear fell down my cheek, but I breathed in to stop the pain.

"So, Jackson, you cannot fight or run. Those options are officially gone. Will you join me now?" Kronos grinned and paced in front of me. I stood, pinned to the wall by my own weapon and Annabeth's.

"No, Kronos," I replied steadily. "I will never join your army. You will never take Olympus."

Kronos' facial expression did not change, but he clenched his jaw. He walked over and pulled out his own blade. How many weapons did this guy carry on him at once? He pressed it to my chest, and I yelled out. He slowly began to drag it down as he spoke.

"You will join me eventually. I promise. Even if I have to break every single bone in your body a million times. Even if I have to kill every single person you love. You will be mine. It's just a matter or time." He sheathed his scythe and casually walked away, melting through the wall. He had carved a giant _K_ into my chest. My body went limp as my chest screamed and my blood flowed away.

 **Tada! Chapter 3! Sorry that one took a while. Please let me know what you think and I will be back with more soon!**


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